The present invention relates generally to production and processing of chopped amorphous fibers, and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for continuously making such fibers using an air transport system.
Chopped amorphous fibers may be advantageously formed from floss-like materials. Various machines are known for producing such materials. One example of a machine for producing floss is the cotton candy spinning machine, in which sucrose is transformed from a granulated material into a spun candy floss product. More recently, a variety of new apparatus and methods have been discovered which can be used to produce an array of products, such as pharmaceuticals and food products, based on transformation of feedstock material to a floss. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,346,377 issued Sep. 13, 1994, U.S. Pat. No. 5,380,473 issued Jan. 10, 1995, U.S. application Ser. No. 08/192,133 filed Feb. 4, 1994 and now U.S. Pat. No. 5,427,811 U.S. application Ser. No. 08/049,773 filed Apr. 19, 1993 now pending, U.S. application Ser. No. 08/039,973 now U.S. Pat. No. 5,447,423 filed Mar. 30, 1993, and U.S. application Ser. No. 08/266,234 filed Jun. 27, 1994 now U.S. Pat. No. 5,445,769.
Heretofore, the majority of spinning machines have been adapted for batch processes. Spun product is ejected from the spinning machine and caught in a bowl or basin from which it must be periodically removed. The efficiency of production processes can be significantly improved by incorporating floss-producing machines, such as spinning machines, into a continuous production process. Several prior art devices have attempted to incorporate candy floss spinning machines into continuous production processes.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,221,675 to Forkner discloses a spinning machine discharging floss into a rotating bowl from which the floss is gravity fed onto a conveyer belt. The gravity feed mechanism is specially adapted for co-mingling the floss with atomized materials. A duct is provided for recirculating atomized material which has not been absorbed by the floss. A primary and a secondary conveyor belt are required to compact and transport the floss for further processing.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,526,525 to Oiso et al. discloses a spinning machine discharging floss directly onto a conveyor belt. Suction is applied to the conveyor belt to aid in adhesion of the floss. The belt and suction system does not deliver the floss directly to the processing equipment; rather, the floss is discharged for further processing by an intricate series of additional conveyor belts and rollers. The Oiso et al. reference also discusses a prior art device wherein cotton candy is entrained in an air flow to aid in winding the candy about a stick. This prior art device is directed solely to collection of the candy floss, not to processing.
The devices disclosed in the Forkner and Oiso et al. references suffer from a number of disadvantages, such as expense, intricacy of required parts, susceptibility to clogging, lack of positive means to remove spun floss product from the spinner head region (with concomitant potential for buildup of product), and so on. One solution to these problems is disclosed in co-assigned, co-pending U.S. application Ser. No. 08/398,882 now pending wherein one or more rotating drums are used to collect floss product and transport it for further processing, such as chopping with a hammer mill. However, even greater economy and simplicity are still desirable. There is, therefore, a need in the prior art for an apparatus and method for continuously producing chopped amorphous fibers using a simple and economical fiber transport method, such as air transport, wherein transport of floss for processing is carried out primarily by air transport without the need for complex apparatus such as conveyor belts and rollers.